Standard Lemma guide

archeopteryx

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: äkē.ŏpʹtərĭks
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɑɹkiˈɒptəɹɪks/
  • US: /ɑːkiːˈɒptəɹɪks/
  • Mid-Atlantic, US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A specimen of the species Archaeopteryx lithographica, being the earliest and most primitive known bird, representing a transition in the evolution of dinosaurs to birds.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, history, human-sciences, natural-sciences, paleontology, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

extinct primitive toothed bird of the Jurassic period having a long feathered tail and hollow bones; usually considered the most primitive of all birds

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: archaeopteryx, Archaeopteryx lithographica

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: bird

History

Etymology

From English archaeo- (“ancient”, “primitive”) (from Ancient Greek ἀρχαῖος (arkhaîos)) + English -o- + Ancient Greek πτέρυξ (ptérux, “wing”, “bird”).

Across languages

Translations

40 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Breton: arkaeopteryks — ancient bird
  • Catalan: arqueòpterix — ancient bird
  • Chinese Mandarin: 始祖鳥 /始祖鸟 (shǐzǔniǎo) — ancient bird
  • Czech: archeopteryx — ancient bird
  • Danish: archaeopteryx — ancient bird
  • Danish: archæopteryx — ancient bird
  • Dutch: archaeopteryx — ancient bird
  • Esperanto: arkeopterigo — ancient bird
  • Finnish: archaeopteryx — ancient bird
  • French: archéoptéryx — ancient bird
  • German: Urvogel — ancient bird
  • German: Archäopteryx — ancient bird
  • German: Archaeopteryx — ancient bird
  • Greek: αρχαιοπτέρυξ (archaioptéryx) — ancient bird
  • Greek: αρχαιοπτέρυγα (archaioptéryga) — ancient bird
  • Hindi: आद्यपक्षी (ādyapakṣī) — ancient bird
  • Hungarian: archaeopteryx — ancient bird
  • Icelandic: öglir — ancient bird
  • Italian: archeotterige — ancient bird
  • Japanese: 始祖鳥 (shisochō) — ancient bird
  • Latvian: arheopterikss — ancient bird
  • Lithuanian: archeopteriksas — ancient bird
  • Norwegian Bokmål: urfugl — ancient bird
  • Norwegian Bokmål: archaeopteryx — ancient bird
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: urfugl — ancient bird
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: archaeopteryx — ancient bird
  • Polish: archeopteryks — ancient bird
  • Portuguese: arqueoptérix — ancient bird
  • Romanian: arheopterix — ancient bird
  • Russian: археопте́рикс (arxeoptériks) — ancient bird
  • Slovak: archaeopteryx — ancient bird
  • Slovene: praptič — ancient bird
  • Slovene: arheópteriks — ancient bird
  • Spanish: archaeopteryx — ancient bird
  • Spanish: arqueoptérix — ancient bird
  • Swedish: archaeopteryx — ancient bird
  • Turkish: archaeopteryx — ancient bird
  • Volapük: el Archaeopteryx — ancient bird
  • Volapük: elaf Archaeopteryx — ancient bird
  • Volapük: ruböd — ancient bird